RESEARCH - Extent of occupational hand use among persons with RA

July 9, 2006

Arthritis Rheum. 2006 Apr 15;55(2):294-9.

Extent of occupational hand use among persons with rheumatoid arthritis.

Allaire S, Wolfe F, Niu J, Baker N, Michaud K, LaValley M.

Clinical epidemiology Research and Training Unit A203, Boston University

School of Medicine, 715 Albany Street, Boston, MA 02118, USA.

sallaire@...

OBJECTIVE: Occupational hand use is increasing due to increased computer use

and could place persons with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) at risk for work

disability. Although hand involvement in RA is typical, there is little

information about occupational hand use in relation to RA. Study objectives

were to describe the extent of occupational hand use by persons with RA; the

types of jobs that require extensive hand use; the relationship between

occupational hand use and joint pain; and the extent of occupational hand

use among persons with shorter versus longer disease duration. METHODS:

Cross-sectional survey data from 2,761 employed participants with RA from a

US national cohort were used. Extent of occupational hand use was measured

by the hand-use item from a job physical demand scale used in prior RA

studies. Analyses included descriptive statistics and chi-square tests.

RESULTS: The mean age was 50.6 years, 78.5% were women, 91.8% were white,

and 68.8% had more than a high school education. Eighty-three percent of

participants reported extensive occupational hand use. Large portions of

participants in all types of jobs reported extensive hand use, 92% with

administrative support jobs and 69% with operator/laborer jobs. Participants

with extensive occupational hand use were more likely to have hand joint

pain than those with moderate hand use (66% versus 58%; P = 0.004).

Extensive hand use did not vary by disease duration (83% and 84% in

participants with < or =15 and >15 years' duration, respectively).

CONCLUSION: Extensive occupational hand use was ubiquitous among employed

persons with RA and was associated with greater hand pain.

PMID: 16583427

ct & list_uids=16583427

Not an MD

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Mayo Clinic in Rochester

s Hopkins Medicine

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